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A
Term
Definition
A/P
Common abbreviation for the term Accounts Payable.
A/R
Common abbreviation for the term Accounts Receivable.
Accounting Methods
PCLaw supports three different accounting methods: Cash, Modified Cash, and Accrual. The method you choose determines into which General Ledger (G/L) account certain transactions are placed. Your accountant can tell you what accounting method your firm uses. Select the About PCLaw menu option from the Help menu to display the accounting method PCLaw has been set up to use for the current set of books.
Accounting Restriction Date
Set on the System Settings / Other tab, this option prevents you from placing accounting entries on or before this date. When you close a month, the accounting restriction date adjusts to the last day of the closed month.
Accounts Payable
Money your firm owes for goods and services purchased on account.
Accounts Receivable
Money owed to your firm for goods and services that you have billed but which have not yet been paid.
Accrual Method of Accounting
In this method, income is realized when the bill or invoice is produced. In other words, the income appears on the income statement in the month the bill is issued. Disbursements are considered assets and consequently appear in the receivable area on the balance sheet. This is the method used by Canadian firms. Select the About PCLaw menu option from the Help menu to display the accounting method PCLaw has been set up to use for the current set of books.
Active Vendor
Vendor (from PCLawPro or the Accounts Payable optional module) with which the firm conducts business. Once a vendor is no longer used, it is closed and considered inactive.
Activity Codes
Used with task-based billing to describe an activity on an invoice. In PCLaw, activity codes are defined and maintained using the Explanation Codes function.
Add Tabs
You can add, hide, remove, or change the order of tabs in Contact Manager, Matter Manager, and Client Manager. Tabs that can be added include tabs that were previously hidden or removed or custom tabs.
Add to Totals Only
Select this Hold option to include the hours and amount of the charge in the sub-totals and totals for any Pre-Bill, Bill, Request Bill, or Settlement Statement. A transaction line does not appear on the invoice.
Admin
The user name assigned for the system administrator. This user can use all functions in PCLaw, including the security function.
Administrative Hours
Hours that are tracked for administrative purposes. These fees are not charged to clients.
Advanced Bill Selections
A box on the System Settings / Billing Tab. Uncheck this box to hide the Matter, Fees, Disbs, Rcpts, Trust, and Options tabs when you bill.
Advanced Costs
Items purchased by a firm on behalf of a client. The funds are later recovered from the client.
Advanced Search
A customizable tool that alllows you to detail the specific field(s) to search, the parameters of the search, and the text or numerical value.
Aging
The process of tracking a transaction over time. For example, a bill may be aged to determine when interest charges are to be added.
Allocation Area
The middle half of a check, receipt or transfer window that is used to allocate a financial transaction to one or more matters or G/L accounts.
Allocation Listing
The Allocation Listing displays costs allocated to matters through the Accounts Payable feature. Invoices are grouped by vendor and can be sorted by matter or invoice number. The report displays the original amount of the invoice, payments applied to the invoice and any discount realized. Allocations to matters and the matter's GST category are shown. The Summary by Responsible Lawyer separates billed and unbilled allocations by lawyer.
All Tab (Matter Manager)
The All tab contains client ledger transactions, calendar events, and notes associated with the matter.
Anticipated Disbursements
A cost to the firm that you expect but has not occurred. The disbursement is posted to the Client Ledger as two separate entries. A positive entry is flagged with the invoice number which indicates that the disbursement is included on the invoice. The Client Ledger also includes a negative unbilled entry. When you post the actual disbursement to PCLaw, the negative and actual entry will negate each other and do not affect the net billed amount of any future invoices.
Appointment
An appointment is a calendar event that you need to perform on a specific day and time.
Appointment Area
The Appointment Area of the Calendar includes appointments for a day, a week, or a month and compares time posted against a daily goal. If you select Include Holidays in System Settings, the holiday appears on the required day on both the Day and Week view.
Appointment History
Open the original appointment or any of its continuances to view a history of an appointment. Click the View button in the Continuances window. You will not see the View button when you create a continuance.
Appointment Listing
The Appointment Listing includes Calendar and Notes information in a report format. The report includes tasks due for a specified reminder date or due date and can include one or more of appointments, to do's, or notes. You can view uncompleted events, completed events, or both.
Appointment Schedule
Use the Appointment Sheet to add multiple appointments at one time. A matter summary opens at the bottom of the window if the appointment is associated with a matter.
Appointment Sheet
Use the Appointment Sheet to add multiple appointments at one time. A matter summary opens at the bottom of the window if the appointment is associated with a matter.
Archiving (to a matter)
The process of moving a matter from your hard disk to another storage location. The system retains a brief description of the matter and its location.
Asset Account
A category of General Ledger (G/L) account that records assets. An asset account is a debit balance account.
Assets
Resources owned by your firm.
Assigned Lawyer
The primary timekeeper for a matter.
Associated Matters Tab (Contact Manager)
The Associated Matters tab enables you to work with matters associated to the selected contact.
Associated Template
When you use an Electronic Billing custom tab, an associated template sends a copy of the electronic invoice to the printer or screen, allowing the firm to save it for their records.
Associated Type of Law
The type of law assigned to a matter that you mark for task-based billing. You can locate this type of law on the Billing/Past Due/Taxes tab of the Open Matter window. Do not confuse this with the type of law defined on the Matter tab. When you select an associated type of law, you restrict all entries for this matter to explanation codes associated with the specified type of law.
Auto Track Time Reduction
Auto Track Time Reduction creates a time adjustment entry whenever the hours of a time record are reduced in the Correct Time Entry window.
Auto Transfer from Trust
You can automatically transfer trust funds to the general account to pay all or part of a bill when you conduct a mass billing. The bill contains the transfer. You can choose to print the trust check, the general receipt, or both.
AutoFill
The AutoFill button used in the Trust-to-General Transfer function to list all matters that have an A/R balance and a trust balance. Choose one or more of these matters for the transfer.
Automatic Fee Allocation
A method PCLaw uses to distribute fees among the working lawyers for a matter. You compensate lawyers based on the work they perform.
Automatically Create Disbursements at Billing
Automatically Create Disbursements at Billing places a one time or per-bill charge on the client's invoice. The charge can be a flat amount or calculated as a percentage of fees.
Automatically Generate PDF Output
The Output / PDF option on Bill Selections windows creates a .pdf file of the bill in addition to any other output selections.
